LET'S TALK TOFU!!

meggiemaye · May 2011

Okay guys, it's time to talk seriously. That is to say, it is seriously time to talk tofu. You know what I mean. :glasses:

So I love fried tofu, and I feel like I have taken every piece of tofu advice I've ever read online or collected from a favorite chef. And no matter how much I press, which oil I use, or how hot my wok is, my tofu never comes out the way I want it or the way I get it in restaurants!! :sad:

It never really forms a thick golden outer crust the way I want...I buy extra firm for stirfry and I want it to fry up nicely, I do no want it to merely be darkened or be slimy. I honestly wonder how it is done, especially in Thai foods...it is fried so perfectly that I have to imagine it is deep-fried! I honestly was considering buying a deep fryer JUST to make cheaper Thai food at home!

So even though I feel like I might have exhausted my options, and might just have a black spatula, I'm hoping some of you who love tofu as I do might have experienced some trial-and-error and have some advice for me? I would really really love that!! :happy:

rosechui · May 2011

I don't know what tips on tofu you have tried. But I fried tofu and then make it with a Chinese style sauce.
I will cut the tofu in a small cube (Around 2-3 bits size), add little salt in all the surface area of the tofu. wait it for 5-10 minutes, it will have water come out, dried the water , and put a some plain flour in the surface of the tofu and then fried it. At lest this method work for me no matter what frying pan/wok or oil I used.

emaybe · May 2011

GAH! I've been frustrated by the SAME DAMN THING FOR YEARS. I could barely cook before I met my current BF who is a wonderchef, but I was ALWAYS good at making Asian food... and while I can get the tofu to edible and tasty, I can never accomplish what the Thai do to it. I've always wondered. I managed to replicate a recipe from a Thai place I barely liked once, which was basically marinating the tofu for 30 minutes in soy/teriyaki/whathaveyou and then breading it with flower and frying it in sesame oil, but it was still not the same damn thing. HOW DO THEY DO IT?!?!?!?!

So, in short... bump.

emaybe · May 2011

...and it's late and I meant "flour", not "flower".

Tamstar1985 · May 2011

Try dipping your prepared, firm tofu in egg white then flour or cornstarch

it'll make pan fried tofu soooooo crispy! Do you like tofu prepared any other way? For example I love soft fresh tofu served up with lemon juice, sliced ginger, and some dried seaweed. Also tofu in some light soups is so yummy! If you are living in north america tho, your access to the freshest tofu is probably nonexistant, right? Freshness really makes a difference as far as tofu is concerned.

schpanks · May 2011

I have my suspicions that it is deep fried when you get it at the thai place. It's way too evenly crispy and golden to have done it any other way. That said, I had good success one time frying tofu for fajitas. I think I was using olive oil. I cut the tofu into strips. Then I very carefully, one little strip at a time, fried it on each side. I used a fork and turned them to make sure they were evenly cooked on each side. It was time consuming, but I was very happy with the way it turned out, and I've been trying, with varying degrees of success, to work with tofu for 15 years or so.

fteale · May 2011

To make tofu crunchy and golden you have to roll each piece in cornflour before frying. It isn't ever quite as good as restaurant tofu, though. I think the stuff you buy in supermarkets is just a different thing. It's denser for a start.

There are some great tofu recipes on the vegetarian cookery school site (UK).

meggiemaye · May 2011

OH WOW I never thought of breading them first! I can't believe that! I honestly just thought that if I could just figure out how to do it right, I could get the outsides to crust up of their own accord.

LET'S TALK TOFU!!

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